Fighting for Air

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A groundbreaking investigative work by a critically acclaimed sociologist on the corporate takeover of local news and what it means for all Americans For the residents of Minot, North Dakota, Clear Channel Communications is synonymous with disaster. Early in the morning of January 18, 2002, a train derailment sent a cloud of poisonous gas drifting toward the small town. Minot's fire and rescue departments attempted to reach Clear Channel, which owned and operated all six local commercial radio stations, to warn residents of the approaching threat. But in the age of canned programming and virtual DJs, there was no one in the conglomerate's studio to take the call. The people of Minot were taken unawares. The result: one death and more than a thousand injuries. Opening with the story of the Minot tragedy, Eric Klinenberg's Fighting for Air takes us into the world of preprogrammed radio shows, empty television news stations, and copycat newspapers to show how corporate ownership and control of local media has remade American political and cultural life. Klinenberg argues that the demise of truly local media stems from the federal government's malign neglect, as the agencies charged with ensuring diversity and open competition have ceded control to the very conglomerates that consistently undermine these values and goals. Such qbig mediaq may not be here to stay, however. Fighting for Air delivers a call to action, revealing a rising generation of new media activists and citizen journalistsaa coalition of liberals and conservativesawho are demanding and even creating the local coverage they need and deserve.VNRs are analogous to print press releases: they typically endorse a policy or a
product; they present only one side of an issue; ... Regular viewers of local news
programs have seen thousands of them. ... companies, medical equipment
suppliers, insurers, automobile manufacturers, and telecommunications firms,
amonganbsp;...

Title

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Fighting for Air

Author

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Eric Klinenberg

Publisher

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Macmillan - 2007-01-09

ISBN-13

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